Ideas

The other credit risk to watch in China: Fintech-fuelled debt. China's government has copped what Scott Morrison is so desperate to avoid: a credit rating downgrade.

But in the discussion about Moody's surprise move last week to cut its rating for our biggest trading partner, there's one word that has been notably absent, even though it's a risk of growing importance to investors and officials. That word is "fintech". This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Caption Settings Dialog Beginning of dialog window. ASX winners and losers - a snapshot Moody's downgrades China's debt rating For the first time in more than 25 years, the ratings agency Moody's has downgraded China's debt rating. The stand out listings traded on the ASX captured at key moments through the day, as indicated by the time stamp in the video.
Seven disruptive technologies to watch out for in 2017. Women Entrepreneurs Have A New BFF And She Is Always There For You. The latest tech set to change apartment living.

Thanks to a rapidly emerging design trend incorporating a plethora of advanced lifestyle technologies, the once humble unit or townhouse can now offer an experience that channels science fiction rather than urban norm.

Electric vehicle charging bays, biometric apartment access and smart meter technology are just an example of the innovations currently making their way into exciting new residential developments both here and abroad. Notable for their emphasis on enabling sustainable lifestyles, such inclusions allow residents to control living costs and reduce their carbon footprints. Then there’s the simple, inescapable fun of living in a responsive and interactive space. “Technology and the idea of connectivity has become integral to everyone’s lives, so there’s now an expectation, particularly among younger buyers, that everything within a house or apartment should also be connected,” says Ed Horton from sustainable development specialists the Stable Group.
Reebok is making sneakers out of corn. Be more…biodegradable.

In an effort to create more sustainable products, Reebok is going to start making sneakers out of corn. The sole of the sneaker will be made with petroleum-free, non-toxic industrial-grown corn, while the body of the shoe will be made with 100 percent organic cotton. The line is part of the company’s Corn + Cotton initiative. “Reebok is trying to clean up the entire life cycle of shoe making,” Bill McInnis, vice president of Reebok’s future team, said in a statement. Both the cotton and corn in Reebok’s new kicks are compostable, so once you’ve worn out your pair they’ll be recycled to create an entirely different pair.
Mosquitos: There should have been a plague this summer but where have that all gone?

A mosquito killer robot was displayed at the China Hi-Tech Fair (CHTF), which launched in Shenzhen, on Wednesday.

The robot is produced by Shenzhen Robotics Association. According to their marketing manager Jack Shaw, the robot can "detect a mosquito stretch and catch it, and then finish it off using laser technology. The device is intended to be used in Africa and south Asia.
Liverpool is the top suburb for online shopping in NSW. NSW is the fastest-growing state for online shopping, but there is one suburb heading to the online checkout the most: Liverpool.

Thirty-two kilometres south-west of the CBD and home to more than 140 languages, Liverpool and its population of more than 24,000 makes the most online shopping purchases in NSW. This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button. Captions Settings Dialog. Our amazing year in health technology. Our amazing year in health technology Our amazing year in health technology Story by ALICE WILLIAMS | news.com.au.

But it is changing customer expectations, and physical shops will have to adapt their retail experience. The first thing that hits you is the smell. And that’s the point. The small Mon Purse boutique on William St, Paddington, is the future of retail. The only thing missing is drones.
Welcome. South East Asia internet economy to grow. Australian investors are ‘living on a different planet’
Chinese tourists in Phuket, Thailand.

Picture: Alex Tilbury AUSTRALIAN investors are “living on a different planet” thinking Chinese demand for our commodities will rebound, according to one leading expert. Dong Tao, the Hong Kong-based managing director and chief regional economist at Credit Suisse, says many Australians still somehow believe Chinese government stimulus will bring back demand.

Huskee

Netflix, Twitter: Mega brands that make no money. Netflix is a brand on the rise, but exactly how much money does it make?

Picture: AP Photo/Paul Sakuma I USE Facebook and Twitter, but I often worry about them. How, I ask, do these services pay for themselves? I’m reasonably sure I’ve never clicked on an ad, and reasonably sure I never will. That has me concerned for the economy. The value of companies such Amazon, Netflix and Twitter is so high it is hard to comprehend.

3D Printing

The Consumer Electronics Show 2016 in Las Vegas hosted plenty of virtual reality technology. Picture: Supplied. Jennifer Dudley-NicholsonNews Corp Australia Network IT all became too much. I’d just swooped down a rickety, abandoned rollercoaster track, narrowly ducking beneath fallen rungs when the figure burst forward.
Latest version of Microsoft's HoloLens is truly amazing. Making money in my activewear. Julie Stevanja says the lifestyle change won't go away any time soon. Photo: Supplied A woman walks beside Manly beach and runs in to a friend. "Are you going to the gym?
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Aussie toy makers battle the big guys. Caspar and Darryl Thompson construct a wooden handmade toy kit for Buildme Toys. Photo: Caspar and Daryl Thomas Carving a niche in the cut-throat world of toy making is far from child's play. Ex-navy shipwright Darryl Thompson is ready to launch an assault this Christmas. Determined to counter the market's glut of mass produced plastic toys, in 2013 Thompson began designing and handcrafting a range of wheeled make-it-yourself wooden toy kits.

I was determined to offer a counter to the modern day obsession with instant gratification, the 'I want' mentality. He tested the market for a year and this spring, Buildme Wooden Toys was born. Kylie Mowbray-Adams, owner of toy maker Rainbows and Clover. Countering the 'I want' mentality The business's new website goes live this month and showcases the brand's debut range of assorted trucks and racing cars.

Capital gains tax exemptions for new business sales: Malcolm Turnbull’s innovation statement. Aussie start-ups will be given incentives to kickstart their businesses. $1.1 billion reform package includes tax breaks for investors and new entrepreneur visa$200 million CSIRO innovation fund and $250 million Biomedical Transition Fund will be createdReforms have been welcomed by expert, as it will drive money towards startups and create jobsSummary of reforms. Digital homes: How apps and devices will transform houses in the next five years. Whatever happened to Clint’s Crazy Bargains?
The sale of Clint’s Crazy Bargains’ 115 stores to New Zealand company The Warehouse in 2000 marked the beginning of a series of high-profile collapses of Australian discount retailers.

WHATEVER happened to Clint’s Crazy Bargains? Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, the bargain variety store was one of the great Aussie success stories and a fixture on TV screens with the annoying catchphrase: “It’s craaaazy!” Between 1986 to 2000, Clint’s went from three stores to 117, and the wholesale business went from next to nothing to being a major supplier to 400 stores around Australia. At its height, prior to selling its stores to New Zealand firm The Warehouse for $103 million in 2000, the business employed 3000 people.

Just six years after rebranding Clint’s stores as Yellow Sheds, The Warehouse was forced into an embarrassing retreat from the local market, selling the loss-making Australian assets to private equity. “By the year 2000, we had 3000 staff. So what went wrong?
The coolest kitchen products on the planet. Kitchen wizardry has come a long way since the Breville Toasted Sandwich Maker first hit the shelves in 1974.
Tesla Suit means that one day you'll be able to hug your partner remotely. Taste test: Are Jack's Newtown burgers Sydney's best?
Gaming is about to change forever. This is why.
This is what we should do to foster start-ups in Australia. Evocca College, Unique International College, Phoenix Institute slapped by Australian Skills Quality Authority. Private training colleges rorting the Australian taxpayer have been put on notice.

This is the future of schools. Future of education?
How Digital Disruptors Could Transform Trade Finance. If digital tracking can be baked into the physical flow of goods, via the IoT, then many of the bottlenecks to trade financing can be removed.
From making scarves to building a $165 million tech start-up: Canva's Melanie Perkins. Skip, Companion, Water Balance: Why the app store is destroying humanity. Opening a window on Australia's job opportunities in the face of massive changes. Possible cancer cure being tested in human medical trials in Sydney, Melbourne.

Man on a mission ...
IiNet: New world of devices. Australians play video games for 1.5 hours a day: survey. Interactive entertainment ... a new study shows the average age of gamers is creeping higher.
The high cost of Australia’s housing obsession. Queen of Silicon Valley Sandra Kurtzig on success of ASK Computers. YouTube star Natalie Tran is a prolific apologiser. The microwave is on the verge of its biggest update in 50 years. Taylor Swift and Fleetwood Mac lead the blockbuster concert box office in Australia for 2015.

Facial recognition software is expected to link your MasterCard account to the image of your face. The seven global megatrends that could change our future. Action on fixing the Great Barrier Reef is “urgent”
Chip implants beneath the skin bring a new meaning to 'pay wave'
Clinica-Lase, Melbourne. $10 hedge fund supercomputer sweeps Wall Street with power from the cloud. L'Oreal is 3D printing its own human skin to test cosmetics. Upscale stores try ‘smart’ mirrors to help customers shop. Mum in business: Sarah Hamilton, co-founder of bellabox. Found-it™ System. Genie gadget can summon 'any meal' in 30 seconds from dry ingredient pods. ‘This is a blatant rip-off of the taxpayer’: Training colleges facing audit of ‘predatory’ pricing.

Add online payments to your website easily with SecurePay by Australia Post #sp. Cashed-up Chinese head Australian tourism boom. How You Can Use Geofencing to Improve Your Privacy & Security. Forbes.com writer Jason Lim launches Asia Recon, an initiative exposing Aussies to hidden opportunities across Asia - Startup Daily. Business Diploma gold rush: Private colleges sign 10,000 students up to $90m worth of loans. Sydney start-up launches The Realm System to bring ‘force’ to video games and virtual reality. Who we are as Australians in 2015. Gyde this: Aussie brothers Andrew and Scott Julian aiming for the Google of streaming video.

Microsoft unveils HoloLens, gives Windows 10 away for free. Australian YouTube stars are million dollar hot property complete with agents. Whether we like it or not, porn rules our lives and has changed the way we live. This is how. How Lego became the world’s biggest toy company. Smart gadgets power ahead at the Consumer Electronics Show. The year in technology, and what to expect in 2015. You won’t believe what your mobile will do in the future. 3D printing’s journey from science fiction to science fact. Murdoch, Packer and Stokes pour $20 million “peer to peer” lender SocietyOne, offering cheaper personal loans. Qantas Golf Club to give frequent flyers members points for booking tee times. ‘No one is safe’: Hacking threat.

Famous Logos With Hidden Messages. The Courier-Mail. 25 inventions, innovations, devices and research fields aiming to change your world for the better. Yao Chen: Meet China's answer to Angelina Jolie. Beyoncé Knowles album sold just 4290 copies to be the lowest selling number one this year. The 10 futuristic gadgets that will change your world. Parrot’s new range of toy drones aimed at teenagers raise privacy concerns. Principals cash in on after-school care.